The night
before the big battle with the White Walkers, our cast members (many of whom I
assume will be killed) gather at Winterfell to chat, drink, come to terms with
things, have sex, reminisce and reveal their true parentage.
It was worth
it just to see Brienne belatedly become Ser Brienne of Tarth, a knight of the
Seven Kingdoms. Nobody has earned it more than this woman who once fought a
bear and whose loyalty, once pledged, cannot be shaken. It was very moving to
see her character reach this validation. Even more moving was that it was Jaime
who knighted her as these two have had one of the most compelling relationships
in the series. It was a nice touch earlier when Brienne vouched for Jaime to
Daenerys, and Jaime pledged to serve under Brienne’s command.
It was kind of
nice seeing everyone gather before the fire to drink. There were some nice
touches, with Tyrion surreptitiously overserving Pod; Tormund flirting with
Brienne and his weird story; Lady Mormont pledging to fight; and the quiet
gathering of Jon, Samwell and Dolorous Edd. I really hope Grey Worm and
Missandei can survive and move somewhere nice. Being from a warm climate, they
must be miserable in Winterfell. Gilly shows some kindness to the children who
ended up in what will be the heart of battle. Davos is understandably haunted
by a little girl whose facial scars remind him of poor Princess Shireen.
I don’t know why
Daenerys is so pissed at the Lannister brothers for Cersei’s betrayal, because
Dany fell for it, too. I realize the brothers bear some responsibility since
they know Cersei better, but at this point, everyone has to realize that the
woman who firebombed a house of worship might not be trustable. Tyrion and
Jaime are at a low ebb anyway (with even Jaime’s grooming reverting to the
unkempt look he had when he was Catelyn’s prisoner).
Arya loses her
virginity to Gendry. On one hand: git it, girl! On the other hand: it was startling
to see the sideboob, since Arya was so young when the show started. But I’m not
going to begrudge her character this experience, and I liked her directness and
power in these scenes.
Daenerys
reaches out to Sansa to smooth things over. It was refreshing to see these two
characters talk instead of give each other side-eye and attitude. I do heartily
agree with Sansa: they have plans for war but they need to have plans for
peace, or whatever may follow. I think Sansa is 100 percent right to argue that
as much as the Targaryens were robbed of their Seven Kingdoms, the Starks also
got robbed of the North. You could even argue that the Starks got a rawer deal,
since they were not insane and murderous, unlike the Mad King.
I felt for
Daenerys at Jon’s revelation that he technically has a greater claim to the Iron
Throne under Westeros’ preference for men before women (they could always just say
“fuck tradition” like Tormund said). Daenerys has worked so hard and come so
far and now at the last minute, Jon dumps this on her. Plus, she didn’t need
this distraction right before the battle, but I don’t suppose there ever really
is a good time for your lover to tell you he’s your nephew and maybe your
usurper.
I understand
the show wanted a “calm before the storm” episode and we will be grateful for
it once the chaos begins and these people start dying. Judging by the reviews I’ve
read, I’m in the minority, since I didn’t need two episodes of setup with just
six installments of Game of Thrones
left. I think this was an episode I’ll appreciate more on a second viewing after
these characters meet their fates and I can look back on these quiet moments.
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